Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Pakistan: Religious Freedom

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Pakistan about freedom of religion or belief in view of reports that that government's State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs has voiced support for an anti-Ahmadiyya twitter campaign by calling for Ahmadis to be punished by death.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The UK Government remains deeply concerned by reports of discrimination and violence against Ahmadiyya Muslims in Pakistan. We are concerned by language that may incite violence against any religious or ethnic groups.We continue to urge the Government of Pakistan at senior levels to guarantee the fundamental rights of its citizens, regardless of their belief. I raised the UK Government's concerns about the protection of the Ahmadiyya community with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights, Dr Shireen Mazari, on 27 February and our concerns about the comments made by the Pakistan Minister of State on 5 June. I then raised our concerns again about Freedom of Religion or Belief with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights by letter on 5 June. I also raised the UK Government's concerns about the protection of the Ahmadiyya community, including comments made by the Pakistan Minister of State, with Pakistan's High Commissioner to the UK, His Excellency Nafees Zakaria, on 12 and 27 May. The British High Commissioner to Pakistan met Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights on 8 June and raised our concerns about Freedom of Religion or Belief in Pakistan, including the comments made by the Pakistan Minister of State.

Wang Quanzhang

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the claims of the Chinese human rights lawyer, Wang Quanzhang, that he was tortured during a four-year prison sentence, kept under 24-hour surveillance by two armed police officers within his prison cell, and was forced into making a false confession; what representations they have made to the government of China about his reported treatment; and what response they have received.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: We have directly raised our concerns about the detention, mistreatment, and harassment of Wang Quanzhang on multiple occasions with the Chinese Government, and raised the case during China's last Universal Periodic Review. The Foreign Secretary raised human rights concerns with his Chinese counterpart, State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, on both 9 March and 8 June.

Department for International Development

Overseas Aid

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement by the Prime Minister on 16 June about the merger of the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (HC Deb, cols 666–8), whatchanges they plan to make to the operation of UK Official Development Assistance.

baroness sugg: On 16 June the Prime Minister announced that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development will merge to form a new international department – the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The Government remains committed to the target of spending 0.7 percent of national income on Official Development Assistance (ODA), which is enshrined in law, and the UK continues to abide by internationally agreed rules on what constitutes ODA. The majority of ODA will be administered by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, while a small amount will continue to be spent by other departments who bring relevant expertise to specific projects including BEIS, DEFRA, DIT and Home Office (to deliver ODA eligible services in the UK).The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will have oversight of the Government’s aid policy and final decisions will be taken by the Foreign Secretary. The Integrated Review, expected to conclude later in the year, will define the Government’s ambition for the UK’s role in the world and its outcomes will shape the objectives for the new department, including for ODA.All departments are accountable to parliament and to taxpayers for how they spend UK aid.

Overseas Aid: Poverty

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement by the Prime Minister on 16 June about the merger of the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (HC Deb, cols 666–8), what plans they have to ensure that UK Official Development Assistance focuses on the eradication of poverty.

baroness sugg: On 16 June the Prime Minister announced that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development will merge to form a new international department – the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The Government remains committed to the target of spending 0.7 percent of national income on Official Development Assistance (ODA), which is enshrined in law, and the UK continues to abide by internationally agreed rules on what constitutes ODA.We will continue to be guided by our responsibilities under the International Development Act, including a commitment to poverty reduction. As the PM has said, the work of UK aid to reduce poverty will remain central to the new department’s mission.The Integrated Review, expected to conclude later in the year, will define the Government’s ambition for the UK’s role in the world and its outcomes will shape the objectives for the new department, including for ODA.

Department for International Development: Public Expenditure

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement by the Prime Minister on 16 June about the merger of the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (HC Deb, cols 666–8), what plans they have to change the current budget for the Department for International Development.

baroness sugg: The budget of the new department will combine the FCO and DFID budgets. The Government remains committed to the target of spending 0.7 percent of our national income on aid, which is enshrined in law. As the Prime Minister has said and as reflected in the name of the new department, the development work of DFID will remain central to the new department’s mission. The Government will set future budgets as part of the next Spending Review. An announcement on the Spending Review will be made in due course.

Department for International Development: Reorganisation

baroness goudie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consultation, if any, took place with humanitarian and development experts before the decision was made to merge the Department for International Development with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

baroness sugg: On 16 June the Prime Minister announced that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development will merge to form a new international department – the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The Government will continue to engage closely with interested stakeholders, including UK and international NGOs, in the weeks and months to come as we work to create the new department, which will unite our development expertise and first class diplomatic service to make the UK a force for good in the world.

Department for International Development: Reorganisation

baroness goudie: To ask Her Majesty's Government why the decision to merge the Department for International Development with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was taken before the conclusion of the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy.

baroness sugg: The Prime Minister is determined that the Integrated Review later this year will set an ambitious vision for the future of the UK as an active, internationalist, problem-solving and burden-sharing nation. The new Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office will be central to the delivery of that vision, so it needs to prepare now to be ready by the Autumn.This reform will create a department that for the first time for many years has the combination of size, reach and expertise to project us effectively internationally and make sure that we spend our development money in the best possible way.

Eritrea: Overseas Aid

baroness anelay of st johns: To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures are in place to ensure that Government-funded international development and aid programmes do not involve forced labour in Eritrea, with particular regard to indefinite military conscription.

baroness sugg: UK Aid funds life-saving activity in Eritrea, including providing £4 million to UNICEF in 2019-20 to help treat malnutrition in under-fives and provide access to safe hygiene and sanitation services. UNICEF work with the Ministry of Health and at all levels of the local community to build the capacity of the health service in Eritrea and encourage a long-term, sustainable response to undernutrition. No military personnel are employed in the delivery of the programme and enhanced safeguards are in place to prevent the use of forced labour.The UK continues to call for reform of Eritrea's use of a system of universal and compulsory national service directly with the Government of Eritrea. At the 41st session of the Human Rights Council in July 2019, the UK renewed calls for Eritrea to reform the national service system, recognising that sustainable reform of national service needs to happen in tandem with an improved economic situation and job creation.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many claims there have been for (1) contributory Job Seeker's Allowance, and (2) contributory Employment and Support Allowance, in each quarter since January 2014.

baroness stedman-scott: Quarterly data on the number of a) Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants by benefit entitlement, and b) Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) caseload by phase of ESA claim and payment type, from February 2014 to November 2019 are given in the spreadsheet attached.



HL5028 attachment
(Excel SpreadSheet, 21.04 KB)

Social Security Benefits: Coronavirus

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Stedman-Scott on 1 June (HL4513), what assessment they have made of whether the COVID-19 pandemic would constitute an appropriate point to conduct a review of the benefits cap.

baroness stedman-scott: There are currently no plans to change the benefit cap. The Benefit Cap restores fairness between those receiving out-of-work benefits and taxpayers.

Cabinet Office

UK Relations With EU: Galileo System

lord west of spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the EU on access to Galileo as part of negotiations on the future UK–EU relationship.

lord true: The UK and the EU discussed the Galileo programme during the Withdrawal Agreement negotiations. The EU’s offer then on Galileo did not meet the UK’s defence and industrial requirements.

Civil Service: Pensions

baroness crawley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how women are affected by the loss of their Civil Service 'survivor' pension, following cohabitation with a new partner.

baroness crawley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Civil Service (1) widows, and (2) widowers, in (a) England and Wales, and (b) Scotland, have had their pension revoked as a result of remarriage or cohabitation.

baroness crawley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost of paying all 'survivor' pensions to Civil Service (1) widows, and (2) widowers, regardless of remarriage or cohabitation and when it occurred.

baroness crawley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the financial impact on Civil Service (1) widows, and (2) widowers, of the loss of their 'survivor' pension due to remarriage.

lord true: The Government Actuary’s Department completed the quadrennial actuarial valuation as at 31 March 2016 and showed that the average annual pension for surviving adult dependants in the Civil Service pension arrangements was around £2,100 for male dependants and around £4,700 for female dependants.The pensions of widows, widowers and surviving civil partner pensions, under the Classic section of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme, cease if they remarry or cohabit. In 2018, the Government Actuary’s Department estimated the extra cost of paying all survivor pensions, regardless of remarriage or cohabitation and when it occurred. The estimated extra cost in 2018 was around £550m for reinstating pensions that had already ceased and an annual future cost of around £30m for stopping the practice going forward. The estimate was a simplified approximation based on an earlier estimate done in 2006.Based on our initial investigation of ceased pensions for the last financial year (April 2019 to March 2020), seven widows’ and four widowers’ pensions were ceased due to remarriage or cohabitation. However, we have also noted that the figure for the financial year ended March 2020 may not reflect the experience in recent years as the initial data obtained shows an average of around 120 pensions ceasing on remarriage or cohabitation per year for the period 2008 to 2019. The split of the data previous to the financial year ended March 2020 between widows and widowers, and the breakdown between England, Wales and Scotland, are not available at this point.

Emergencies: Risk Assessment

lord browne of ladyton: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer byLord True on 4 June (HL Deb, col 1436) and subsequent correspondence, whether a committee of ministers has assumed responsibility for receiving reports from thecross-departmental governance board referred to in theUK Biological Security Strategy.

lord true: There is an undertaking in the Biological Security Strategy for the Governance Board to report progress to the Ministerial National Security Council. The progress report is in its final stages of drafting and will be submitted to the National Security Council when this has cleared the process.

Department for International Trade

Arms Trade: Middle East

lord roberts of llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government to which countries in the Middle East they sell arms.

lord grimstone of boscobel: Arms exports require an export licence. As outlined in my response to the Noble Lord on 22 June, UIN:HL5414, HM Government publishes Official Statistics (on a quarterly and annual basis) about export licences granted, refused and revoked to all destinations on GOV.UK, including those for exports to the Middle East. These reports contain information including the overall value, type (e.g. Military, Other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Music: Coronavirus

lord jones of cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to measure whether COVID-19 related Government support, and in particular the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, is protecting jobs and businesses in the music industry.

baroness barran: While we have not completed a specific survey for the music sector, we have analysed the wider Creative Industries sector through the DCMS Coronavirus Impact Business Survey, which provides information on the effects of the pandemic on DCMS’ sectors. Results are published on gov.uk and further analysis of the responses will be available in the coming weeks. We appreciate that the Covid-19 pandemic presents a significant challenge to the music industry and we know that freelancers and individual artists are facing enormous difficulties as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak. The Government’s response has been one of the most generous and comprehensive in the world, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme and the Bounceback Loan Scheme business rates reliefs. In addition, the Government has adapted the welfare system so that the self-employed can access Universal Credit in full, to help people get quicker and more generous support when they need it most. We continue to speak with HM Treasury colleagues to ensure that the full spectrum of government support reaches the UK's world-leading music industry. The Secretary of State has recently received the open letter signed by numerous artists and performers, in support of the “#Let the Music Play” campaign. We are committed to continuing to work with the music industry to understand the difficulties they face and help them access support through these challenging times and through recovery.

Gambling

the lord bishop of st albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 2 July 2019 (HL Deb, cols 1344–6), and in the light of the pledge made by the Betting and Gambling Council’s five largest members this week, whether the announcement made in the July 2019 statement is now null and void; and if not, where the money has been distributed; what involvement Her Majesty's Government had in the announcement by the Betting and Gambling Council; and why is the money no longer being distributed by the committee launched by Lord Chadlington.

baroness barran: On 2 July 2019 five major gambling operators committed to raise their contribution to funding for research education and treatment to 1% over a four year period, and as part of that to spend a cumulative total of £100m over four years on expanding treatment services. On 15 June 2020 industry body the Betting and Gaming Council set out further detail about the allocation of industry donations for the 2020-21 financial year, and announced that the charity GambleAware would be funded to expand treatment services. The government has been clear that the gambling industry has a responsibility to protect people from gambling harm and support those who have been affected. It welcomed industry’s commitment to increase contributions and will monitor closely the progress of these new measures. While this a voluntary agreement, Ministers and officials have been clear that funds must be spent independently of industry and focused exclusively on reducing gambling related harm.

Film and Television: Equality

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage greater diversity in UK film and TV.

baroness barran: Encouraging greater diversity in UK film and TV is a priority for government, and from our engagement with the cultural and creative sectors - including a roundtable hosted by my colleague Caroline Dineage on the impact of Covid-19 on diversity in these areas - we recognise that this issue has been under greater scrutiny in recent weeks. We are working with the British Film Institute (BFI), in their role as the Government’s arm’s length body with responsibility for the sector, to improve representation both on and off screen, including through supporting the wider adoption of the BFI’s world-leading Diversity Standards. In addition, we are seeking to identify and promote best practice; through our sponsorship of the National Film and TV School, we have recently provided an additional £65,000 to support students from diverse backgrounds and we are also engaging with industry to drive change on the ground. In January this year, DCMS launched the ScreenSkills Apprenticeship Pilot with industry partners Netflix and Warner Media. Recruitment will focus on underrepresented groups within the sector and will not consider previous qualifications as a key recruitment criteria - thereby providing opportunities to people from all backgrounds. We welcome the work Ofcom has undertaken through their annual diversity reports and the work of Project Diamond, an initiative supported by the broadcasters, which captures diversity data and the Creative Industries Council’s recent Diversity Charter. The Government continues to encourage employers to publish diversity data not because they have to but because it is the right thing to do.

Digital Technology: Proof of Identity

lord clement-jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consultations they have held, or plan to hold, following the close of their Call for Evidence on Digital Identity.

baroness barran: The government launched the Digital Identity Call for Evidence on 19th July 2019 and will shortly be publishing a response. The call for evidence provided the government with a wide evidence base in support of digital identity policy-making. We will continue to use a variety of ways to seek input from interested parties including formal engagement if the need arises.

Cricket: Coronavirus

lord bassam of brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) which measures should be brought forward to restore grassroots cricket to at least its pre-COVID-19 levels of activity; (2) what plans they have to develop a national strategy; and (3) who they plan to consult on any such strategy.

baroness barran: Officials are working very closely with the England and Wales Cricket Board on plans to deliver the safe return of club cricket as soon as possible. We are working at pace to shape guidance that will allow the safe return of competitive cricket and other team sports. Any shared sporting equipment may risk transmission, but these risks can be mitigated with good hygiene practice as being adopted across a wide range of sectors. I hope to make further progress on this in the coming weeks so that teams can enjoy a great cricketing summer. In terms of developing and consulting on a national strategy for grassroots cricket, this is a matter for the England and Wales Cricket Board.

Women and Equalities

Gender: Equal Pay

baroness ritchie of downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the suspension of gender pay gap reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic on gender pay gap inequality.

baroness berridge: In recognition of the unprecedented uncertainty and pressure facing employers due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the Government and the Equality and Human Rights Commission suspended enforcement of the gender pay gap reporting deadlines for 2019/20. However, employers can still choose to report their data and we have carried on providing support to those who need it. Over 5,500 employers have reported to date and more continue to do so.